There are more women in the workforce than men—again

For decades, there was a stubborn gender gap in employment, even as women grew more and more educated. Thirty-odd years ago, men still held seven million more jobs—despite the fact that women were already earning college degrees at higher rates than their male counterparts. But by 2020, there was a turning point, and women outpaced men on non-farm payrolls by 109,000 jobs, which meant they accounted for over 50% of the workforce.  Then the pandemic happened. In the years since, women have slowly regained their foothold in the labor force, though working mothers in particular have faced an uphill battle between strict in-office policies and ballooning childcare costs. As of February, however, women have overtaken men in the workforce yet again. A report from Indeed’s Hiring Lab last week highlighted that the gap has closed, driven in large part by job growth in sectors that are dominated by women.  Between February 2024 and 2026, the U.S. economy added 1.2 million jobs. A sign